The Journal
by Banira Soruto
Summary: 'Could she really have read it wrong? Fear gripped her. Was it possible? ' She never thought she'd see the day that Shikamaru had the power to break her heart, and yet here it was. It was almost funny, a few hours earlier she'd thought she'd broken his.
1. Prologue: Pandora's Thoughts

**_The Journal_**

**_Prologue: Pandora's Thoughts_**

_It was a moment of weakness, the chance to study him- the chance to see things from his eyes, was a temptation I could not resist. The journal lay in my hands heavy leather and parchment weighting my limbs down and pinning them to my lap. My eyes were glued to the worn brown cover, the very pages that could very well hold the secrets behind every word he'd ever spoken to me._

_It was too easy; I listened in the shadows for the gruff voice that should've been questioning my actions, but not a sound came. Would he know that I had been here, the same way he knew whenever I looked into him?_

_I told myself that regardless of whether he knew I'd looked into it or not, I would not regret this decision. He was my teammate; I should know him better than anyone else in the world. I worked beside him, I'd seen him kill, and I'd seen the terribly foolish side of him that thought he could fight the death of our sensei. I'd seen him at his most passionate, something only a few people could say._

_He knew my every thought, could predict my every move just as he could predict an opponent's moves in a game of shogi. Choji knew every thought –well, besides the 200 plus moves ahead- that went through that thick skull of his. I knew every thought that went through Choji's head, sure most of them had to do with food, but I still knew him better than anyone else in Konoha. I knew him better than I knew my father even, so why shouldn't I know Shikamaru to the same caliber?_

_I didn't understand why Shikamaru would feel the need to keep things hidden from me; it wasn't as though I could ever outsmart him. If anything wouldn't the knowledge bring us closer together as a team? I was dying to know… what was so important that he wouldn't let me perform my jutsu on him? What was he hiding from me and me alone?_

_If anything, this journal would tell me. I could practically smell Shikamaru on it, the leather covers tips were ruffled from where his fingers had pulled at it so much, brushing my fingers on the ends of the pages I could feel the soft fibers that had frayed. Surely a journal that had experienced as much love as this one would hold some good secrets?_

_So with a heavy sigh I lifted the cover and dove into the depths of Shikamaru's thoughts._

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><p><strong>Two Years Later<strong>

It was fall in the Land of Fire, and everywhere she looked the leaves of the forest were tumbling from jagged wooden branches to a forest floor full of bracken. The winds were blowing faster than she remembered and they whipped her hair behind her even as she stood still in the trees limbs.

"Ino?" her comrade's voice was quiet.

Golden light filtered though the leaves and cast a prism of warm colors all around her. In contrast, the cool breeze blew through her thin purple camisole and brushed against the tops of her thighs, her regulation skirt ruffled to the breeze and very vaguely she noticed the feeling of the nylon shifting. The weather was so different compared to what she'd been immersed in for the past two years; she'd forgotten how cold the Land of Fire could get and had dressed for the warmth she remembered.

"Yes Tsuyoshi?" she asked, a whisper in return.

"We need to keep moving if we plan to get there before nightfall." From below her, he jumped to her branch. His hand came to rest on her shoulder.

Nerves suddenly choked her, home again after two years. Would anything have changed? Would everyone be the same? How would they react to her return? Would they have missed her?

Beside her Tsuyoshi let out an exasperated breath, but she was too lost in her worries to hear. What about her teammates? What about Sakura? Would they forgive her for taking the mission? Would they forgive her for not contacting them in years? Would Shikamaru?

Remembering the heavy weight of the journal in her hands that day two years ago, remembering the words she'd read, she felt a tremor run down her neck. She'd left to leave those words behind, she'd left in fear. It was cowardly and sad but she couldn't face him, not after looking into his journal the way she had. Hadn't they said curiosity killed the cat? Well, now Ino was certain she was a pussy.

She could still remember the bad feeling she'd felt in her chest afterwards. Guilt? Regret? No, she'd told herself she wouldn't regret her actions, so she'd named it fear.

What was the difference though? A bad feeling was a bad feeling, and she had a bad feeling. She hurt inside.

Shikamaru had known her better than she'd known herself, he'd been right to keep his secrets from her. She was an idiot, Shikamaru was the smartest person she knew and he knew her just as well as she knew Choji. Why wouldn't he make the right decision?

Tsuyoshi's hand gently pressed at her cheek and she turned to him. His mauve eyes looked into hers and he smiled gently, his pink lips pulling up at the corners only. "They're your family. They'll love you no matter what, just as I will."

Around his waist his forehead protector sparkled, the reflection of the setting sun flashed onto her face and she smiled in return. He'd left his country for her; he loved her more than anything in the world. Would that surprise her friends in Konoha? Would it surprise them that she'd manage to wrangle a foreign Nin to love her- the way she couldn't get those around her? She felt the bitter anger rising again, a false record was no thanks to that.

Well dirtied reputation or not, this man was in love with her.

She felt comforted by the fact, even though beneath that comfort was the still rising feeling of insecurity. She couldn't fool herself; she still wanted her friends to respect her. She still was dying to be liked by all the Nin in Konoha. She had an inkling that the desire she loathed so much would only unfold when she set eyes on her beloved home.

Home, could she really call it that if she didn't feel at home there?

"Let's go." She said, shaking her fears away.

Platinum blonde hair, ivory skin, eyes as blue as the sky, she was the embodiment of rare beauty in Konoha. She would not let insecurities hold her back; she would not become a wallflower. She was meant to be on display, she wasn't given her beauty to be pushed off to the side. She was given that beauty to be noticed, to be a leader. She would not waste the opportunities fate had so generously given her, she would not waste herself.

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><p><strong>AN: First Fanfic. ever, taking a page from tricksie (author of A Voice in the Wind, go check it out if you haven't already!) and thinking I'm going to explain a few things in these authors notes after chapters...**

**_'It was a moment of weakness, the chance to study him- the chance to see things from his eyes, was a temptation I could not resist.' - _****If you think back, Ino was always top of the class when it came to book smarts. She liked to study, and despite her 'dumb blonde' characteristics she is a very smart girl. I'd like to try and put that into the story, I haven't seen many fanfics that showoff that aspect of Ino's personality.**

**_'The journal lay in my hands heavy leather and parchment weighting my limbs down and pinning them to my lap.'- _****indicates the weight of the secrets and how eventually the secrets would have been revealed regardless of whether Ino read the journal.**

**_'So with a heavy sigh I lifted the cover and dove into the depths of Shikamaru's thoughts._'- refers to Ino's clan jutsu.**

**_'Around his waist his forehead protector sparkled, the reflection of the setting sun flashed onto her face and she smiled in return.' -_**** hints at Tsuyoshi's origins.**

**_'Would that surprise her friends in Konoha? Would it surprise them that she'd manage to wrangle a foreign nin to love her- the way she couldn't get those around her? She felt the bitter anger rising again, a false record was no thanks to that.' -_**** gives you an idea of what rumors have been going around in Konoha.**

**uh... so yeah. Please review, I guess. I mean, I'm writing this for you guys. I'm not going to lie and say I write for myself, that'd be total bullshit. So please review and tell me you appreciate my hard work, and if you think I should continue. Constructive criticism is always welcome. If you tell me you liked the prologue I'll continue on. **

**S.Y.U.T.K**


	2. Chapter 1: Beneath the Silver Bells

**A/N: Nothing too epic happens in this chapter, it just lays down some very bare facts from Shikamaru's POV. **

**_The Journal_**

**_Chapter 1: Beneath the Silver Bells (Biosophobia)_**

Life was hard. At times Shikamaru just wanted to run away from it all, run away from responsibility and run from the all too large chances of tragedy striking. He wanted to run from chance, run from even the idea of failure. He didn't want to be the one to let everyone down, hell, he didn't even want to let himself down.

Was he a coward? Yes, but at least he knew it.

The Silver bells were his escape. He sat beneath them when his life was particularly rough, such as today. It was the only tree with thin, ropey roots that allowed it to grow near the Hokage Monument. It almost seemed to know exactly how to twist itself into the ground beneath it. The jagged terrain wasn't exactly the most suitable climate for large tree's -or animals- but this one tree beat all odds, almost as though it were able to read the cracks and fissures beneath it.

His lone tree sat in the midst of the uneven plateau. Bee-lining his way to the base of the tree, Shikamaru cast his eyes skyward.

There were nearly no clouds today, and the ones that were visible were moving quickly across the never ending mass of blue, but it would have to do.

He had just caught wind of Ino's return from her extended ambassador mission. He was supposed to be one of the first to hear of such news, and yet pretty much all the jounin had already heard. He'd had to get the information from _Ten Ten_. It had been in passing conversation, and she'd just asked him when he was going to meet her at the gates. He'd been surprised and confused, had even asked 'Who? Temari?'

Ten Ten had looked at him like he was crazy before replying with a swift and pointed _'Ino.'_

If Shikamaru were the type, he'd have felt embarrassed for his lack of knowledge of his teammate. They hadn't spoken in two years, he hadn't even received one letter, and Shikamaru was pretty sure that was Ino's way of saying she was upset with him.

He was smart though, he'd gotten information on Ino from Sakura, who'd gotten two letters a week. She hadn't let much go, and kept a lot of little things from him, but she had reassured him that Ino was actually alive. Every time he thought back to those first few weeks of wondering if Ino was simply ignoring him or in death's way brought him back to the same question, what had made her so angry as to not speak to him for two straight years?

The week before she'd left had been perfectly normal, nothing had been spectacular and nothing had been horrible. He'd gone over and through his memories more than a thousand times in the past years. He'd asked himself the same questions, always resulting in the same confusion.

The answer was always nothing. Nothing fit the variable, the answers were all invalid. There were no answers. It hadn't been until a few months ago that he'd come to the conclusion that he would just have to ask her what it was he'd done wrong. Ever since that day of revelation, that had been what he'd told himself. It sort of worried him that he'd have to ask her what he'd done wrong; he'd never had to in the past, and the idea of making her angrier with questions only served to push his heart slightly off beat in his chest. He didn't need an angry pig running wild in Konoha.

Ten Ten kept moving her mouth though, a problem that Shikamaru didn't normally associate with the brunette, and had mentioned Ino's _fiancé_.

Shikamaru had nearly blown a gasket, though his expression didn't let up. Ino had ignored him, forgotten him (not to mention poor Chouji), and had gotten engaged. He shook his head in annoyance, sucked his teeth, and tried to process his thoughts.

He supposed that Ino hadn't sent Chouji letters knowing that Shikamaru would find out and try and send her letters himself, she probably hadn't been expecting him to go to Sakura for help. Shikamaru rarely admitted he needed reassurance, it wasn't in his nature, and she'd probably expected him not to worry about her while she was away as well. In her line of thought an ambassadorship wasn't even a mission, it was a vacation.

This was too much though. Shikamaru had nearly had enough of Ino's gall. She assumed too much and never stopped to actually consider the thoughts of those around her.

Ino was engaged, and hadn't even bothered to ask for his approval. As barbaric as it sounded, he'd always expected to be standing at the side of her father looking the man who was asking for her hand in marriage up and down. Forget that now though, she hadn't even bothered to inform that she was in love, much less getting married.

Now it seemed all he could think about was, _Ino's gotten herself engaged..._

_To a foreign nin?_

His hands slid across the smooth trunk of the tree, as he lay on the ground beside it now. He never thought Ino would lower her standards to something such as that. This nin had to be something special.

_On a mission?_

_'How classy_,_'_ He thought to himself, his nails scratching at the base of the tree. Red dirt piled beneath them. _'Way to reflect the team.'_

_To whom?_

That's what got Shikamaru the most; he and Chouji had never met this man. Never before had he heard the name Tsuyoshi, and never before had he even encountered the thought of _Ino_ settling down. This situation was entirely out of his hands, and he found he didn't like the feeling of not knowing what was going on. (Which he thought was perfectly normal considering his status as national genius) When he thought deeper about it though, he came to the idea that he maybe didn't like the idea of just blindly trusting Ino to choose well for herself, something else he was uncomfortable with.

These days it would seem all he could associate with Ino was ignorance, distrust, and anger. It was funny, because when he was younger and had first started out on her team they'd been in the exact same place, only he'd been the one initiating those emotions.

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><p>Shikamaru dosed, occasionally waking up and sitting up before laying back down to sleep some more on the near flat rock. It wasn't comfortable, and it left him feeling like he should be somewhere else. He was trying to forget that any minute now Ino would be waiting at the gates for warm welcomes and open arms though, and so each time woke up a few minutes later he would lay back down.<p>

He wasted an entire day like that, laying beneath the blue sky and worrying about Ino. He figured that he'd overslept as well, because the longer into the afternoon he went with his naps the more tired he was when he awoke from them, soon he'd fall asleep and stay asleep through the night.

The sun was setting now anyway, and Shikamaru couldn't ignore the chilly winds at the top of the Hokage monuments. It was the time of day that Shikamaru was at his strongest, and he could practically feel his shadow stretching in time with him as he rose to rouse himself.

No doubt, Ino had arrived home now, and knowing her raucous behavior, she was probably out and about town with the Eleven and her new beau. Shikamaru scowled to himself, trying to guess where exactly they would have all gone to eat so that he could form a route to get home away from the line of fire.

He didn't want to avoid her, he just considered that with the level of anger he felt towards her and her tendency to raise her voice at inopportune moments, it would probably be better that he did until he was sure that they could speak in private.

Shikamaru loved Ino, he did, but sometimes the girl just could not control herself.

So when he figured a way to get home quickly, and away from Ino's favorite restaurant he knew he would get home. He hadn't been expecting to see his father at his apartment though, and he definitely hadn't expected to see his mother there. As soon as he did though, he knew shit was about to hit the fan. The look on his mothers face had been enough to tell him that.

"Where were you this afternoon?" she asked him, her hands on her hips and a furious light in her eyes. He recognized that to be the 'insanely angry' look, Ino got it a lot too, and somehow the look reminded him of the two women. With a fire behind her eyes she marched towards her son and stuck her finger into the air in front of his nose, Shikamaru watched it closely, half expecting it to reach out and pinch at his cheek until it wrought tears from his eyes. It'd happened before when she was this angry.

"Ino came home today son." Shikaku said quietly by the door, he had the 'I'm disappointed' look on his face, with a twinge of 'This is so irritating.' that all the Nara men seemed to have etched onto their faces.

Shikamaru didn't respond and just looked his mother in the eye. She stared him down for a few minutes, her blue eyes flickering between his two dark gray ones. The continuous movement irritated Shikamaru, so he just fixed his gaze on the bridge of her nose and prayed that it didn't push her buttons.

"Why weren't you there?" She asked, lowering her finger. The look remained strong and steady on her face and Shikamaru let out a sigh.

"Does that really matter? I wasn't there. I had a good reason, isn't that enough?" Shikamaru said, scratching at the back of his neck.

Yoshino shook her head, mussing her brown waves around her face. Shikamaru cast his eyes to her shoulder, his father stepped behind her to catch them in his hands and rubbed consolingly. "Ino's engaged." he said, his eyes resting on his sons face.

_Time of judgment,_ Shikamaru thought to himself. "I know." he tried not to change expressions. He didn't need his father questioning him with his mother in the room.

Yoshino knew that it was time to step away from the situation and let her husband handle it, so she shrugged Shikaku's hand off her shoulder and moved towards Shikamaru's bedroom. "I'll go and do some laundry." She said quietly and, despite her stagnant anger, she left the room with a soft click of the door.

There was a moments silence before Shikaku's voice broke through.

"He's a nice boy."

There wasn't even a moment's hesitation on Shikamaru's part. "Don't give me that bullshit." he said, cutting his father a look.

"Don't let your mother hear you, she's angry enough at you as is. Add a little more and you might just push her over." His father replied, reprimanding.

Shikamaru didn't reply, instead choosing to move to his lumpy couch. Where he brusquely flopped down and slung his arm over his face.

Shikaku continued on, "He's blonde, like Naruto. Light eyes too. If you ask me they're a pretty matched pair."

Shikamaru rolled onto his side and looked at his father, "Where's he from?"

Shikaku looked at his son blankly, "Lightning. From the looks of his gear he's in their ANBU program."

Shikamaru's hand slid down his face tiredly, "She always did shoot for the stars didn't she?" he whispered.

His father chuckled, "Her father was the same way, when her mother finally said yes to marriage all he could talk about was beauty pageants and how her mother was Miss Konoha three different times."

Shikamaru looked at his dad. "It's irritating how she thinks she has to one up everyone."

Shikaku shook his head, "No, it's natural selection. You still don't seem to understand Shikamaru; you two are different breeds of people. She only sees the best of the best strength's wise- and we're not like that. We think of compatibility, and statistics. The Yamanaka's only concern is who is best 'fit' to carry on the name."

Shikamaru's brow lowered on his face, "Are you saying that they're shallow?"

Shikaku smiled half-heartedly, "I'm saying they're careful. They don't know how to look at things from every angle like we do son, they handle things to the best of their abilities."

Shikamaru laughed harshly and sat up on the couch, "You're saying their shallow!"

A sigh and a head shake was the only response he got from his father. "Regardless, you need to see her. You can't begin to imagine the look on her face when she noticed you weren't there."

Shikamaru studied the popcorn ceiling above his head, confusion pooling in irises. Beneath his hair a million thoughts bounced off the walls of his brain.

_What?_

Shikamaru rose from his place and walked towards the door, "I'm going out."

"Bye son." his father replied a smile in his voice, he knew that Shikamaru could never ignore something that upset the more fragile Yamanaka.

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><p><strong>Okay, so it's short and not the best thing I've ever written but it did the job it was supposed to do. I needed to get a little bit of Shikamaru in the story before I had the two meeting up. I think I'll continue to mostly write from Ino's POV, she's a bit easier to get into. <strong>

**Please review with any questions or concerns, previous review replies are mentioned below! :)**

**So pretty much everyone said my story was interesting, which was very good! I wanted it to be interesting! I just hope this chapter didn't bore you all to death. **

**James Is A British Name - Thank you so much! I hope you really enjoyed this chapter as well! I'd love to hear from you! :)**

**EmoLollipop - I hope that this chapter was just as interesting as the last (though I'm fairly sure it wasn't haha!) I hope you keep reading on! :)**

**Silva Bramley - Thank you so much! I try to capture realities as much as I can and your review let me know that I did! :) I hope you keep reading even though this rather boring chapter!**

**Sayaka M. - I hope nearly two weeks wasn't too long for you! I tend to let life get a hold over me. Though I do try to return to my writing most nights, it would seem that in the past two weeks homework and the end of quarter have strangled me to death. :)**

**fanofthisfiction - I wasn't sure that the comments at the end of the chapter would help anyone that much, but I thought I would try and see if people actually did appreciate them or if I should even bother - they take a _lot _of time write. (as you can see I didn't write them this chapter) but in reply to your question, _The Journal _is not written but is a small section of Shikamaru's inner thoughts. Further description on these will be in the future, as they get rather in depth and crazy. Thank you so much for reviewing and I hope you do again! :)**


	3. Chapter 2: Impact prt 1

**_The Journal_**

**Chapter 2: Impact prt. 1**

-_ Nine Years Ago -_

"Ino, I don't understand you." Shikamaru murmured into his palm. His mouth was downturned in a frown and pulled unattractively at his face. He looked _dry,_ 'boring' as Ino would say.

"Shikamaru, you shouldn't." Ino said as snottily as she moved to sharpen her first kunai. Her daddy had just bought it for her the night before and she was so proud of it, she'd been showing it off all day. Shikamaru was fairly sure that by now the blade had to be sharp enough to cut diamonds, something only his mother's 'angry' eyes could accomplish.

His attention slid from the algebra expression on the board, to her. "Stop being so dramatic Ino."

She looked at him, her blue eyes clear and shallow, flipping her platinum hair over her shoulder while her gaze shifted just the slightest bit to the side of his head. He knew she was looking for Sasuke, she always did. "I'm not dramatic, I'm enigmatic."

Shikamaru scratched at his face as he scoffed, "Do you even know what that word means?"

Her attention was suddenly back on him and when their eyes met Shikamaru felt the world tremble beneath him. Ino didn't realize how powerful her eyes were and so she carelessly slung them about. She was the only person he knew other than his mother who could be so expressive and so inexpressive at the same time, the only one who knew how to knock him back a few feet with a simple glance.

"Yes." she slithered, "I do."

"Well, you should probably know that the proper way to use it would be to say, 'I'm an enigma' not 'I'm enigmatic.'" Shikamaru mumbled as he lowered his head to rest.

Ino hissed at him and went to pinch at his cheek, her nails biting into his skin harshly. After jerking his head away he swatted at her hand, which happened to be reaching for his cheek again. She smiled at him mockingly, "That's what you get for being cheeky."

"I think you mean smart." Shikamaru couldn't help but smirk at his double entendre.

Ino's false expression slid off her face almost comically, she huffed as she turned to survey the classroom. She thought she was being discreet but Shikamaru could tell she was just looking for Sasuke some more. "You know, sometimes I really wish you weren't so... _you._"

Shikamaru rose an eyebrow and glanced at her, intrigued. "Meaning?"

Her sweet blue eyes slid back to him again, and once more he found himself glued underneath her gaze. "Meaning you weren't such a know-it-all, smart-ass, stuck-up Nara."

A strange bitter feeling ran down his spine, he smiled at her sardonically and found himself leaning back in his seat as he studied her. "And you know, sometimes I wish you weren't so _you_. Meaning, brass, loud-mouthed, knaggy bitch Yamanaka."

Her face hardened, but her eyes stayed connected to his. There was a moments silence as she tried to come up with something appropriate to say back, but when she spoke all that came out was, "But if we weren't who we are, don't you think we'd still be friends?"

He watched her, unanswering, while he wondered what she meant. If they didn't have their names would they still be friends, or did she mean that if they had different personalities would they still be friends? Ino could be so broad sometimes.

"What do you mean?" He asked her, shifting so that his weight was in the balls of his feet. Her eyes widened as his body position indicated his interest in her question. He leaned even closer when she didn't answer after a few moments.

Stuttering, she whispered "Wh-What did you think I meant?"

Shikamaru watched her before shaking his head and turning away from her. Did it matter what she meant? Either way it was just as she said, they would've always been friends, regardless of the circumstances.

"Nothing, never mind. I guess you're right though." He paused as he looked at her once more, seeing past her beautiful features and looking at the small imperfections on her face. A small freckle on her left cheek, discoloration on her cheeks, pale lips, he noticed her every flaw. "We were destined to be friends. Nothing would've stopped us." He gave her a charming smile, "I think the real question is whether or not we would be who we are, if we'd never known each other."

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><p>Seven years later she'd found his own answer in his mind and nine years later she wondered if <em>she<em> would've been the same if she'd never met him. Had he made any impact on her? Had he changed her?

He had pushed her away - to the lightning country. He was the reason she had met Tsuyoshi, was he the reason she had fallen in love with the lightning ANBU as well? Had he helped to make her who she was... is?

She couldn't think of a single moment in her childhood when she, Shikamaru, and Choji weren't together. Shika had always been the leader of their group, naturally. He'd taken charge reluctantly, knowing that the job would require responsibility and hard work, but unwilling to trust anyone else with his friends lives.

He'd frustrated her so much. He never wanted to listen to her; he'd grown impatient with her ideas quickly. He'd always had a better plan, he'd always been smarter, had always had to take responsibility for their failed missions, and through her jealousy she'd missed every moment of sweet care he'd showered she and Choji with. She'd only been able to see his irritation with their lacking abilities, and so she'd pushed herself to become better, faster, and stronger. So that he wouldn't always have to look back on her to check if she was alright, so that he wouldn't become irritated with his lesser teammates.

Thinking back on how he'd been the reason she'd pushed herself so hard made her grit her teeth. Shikamaru was probably her closest comrade, aside from Choji, and despite how they were always brought back to arguing or rolling their eyes or thinking nasty thoughts about the other, she still expected him to be there for her when she returned.

Regardless of her expectations though, Shikamaru was nowhere to be seen while everyone else in the rookie nine crew gave her warm welcome homes and lingering hugs. She absentmindedly took their sweet 'I'm so glad you're home!' welcomes and scanned the small gathering of people at the gate for the grey eyed pineapple haired man that she hadn't spoken to in years. In her passing glances she made eye contact with Choji, who smiled and stepped forward, bringing with him a thin woman dressed in shinobi attire. Maybe a girlfriend?

Ino's thoughts were bouncing off the walls of her mind though, and all because of an absent leaf shinobi. Out of the corner of her eye she saw his parents talking with her own, so where could _he_ have been? Not far, surely?

Maybe he was on a mission or in an important meeting with the Hokage - there was no way he could be...? Was there?

"Where's Shikamaru?"

Ino drew in a collective sigh of relief; apparently she wasn't the only one missing him.

All around her, friends murmured to each other, every one of them casting her wary glances. "Aren't they in a fight?" Ten Ten asked Neji. Off to their side Kiba whispered to Hinata about how 'They haven't spoken in years.' Ino frowned and pulled at her lavender tunic self-consciously.

True, she and Shikamaru weren't on the best of conditions, but they were still best friends and always would be. Nothing would ever stop her from feeling that way towards him, not even a few stray fluttering's of their hearts. It hurt her to think that he might not feel the same way about her. Wasn't she supposed to be his wedding planner?

Shikaku and Yoshino moved from their position by her parents, and Ino gripped at Tsuyoshi's hand. He sidled up next to her after abandoning a conversation with a certain pink haired medic-nin.

"Where's Naruto?" She asked Sakura quietly as the Nara clan leader neared.

"Away on a mission, but he told me to tell you that the two of you are having dinner as soon as he returns." Sakura whispered back, feeling a little uncomfortable as Tsuyoshi's gaze slid back to her at the mention of dinner with another man.

She scratched at the back of her neck and smiled softly, Ino smirked at Sakura's uncomfortable expression and ran a soft hand down her fiance's arm. "Don't worry Tsuyoshi, Naruto's not interested. He has enough beautiful women knocking down his door." Ino's gaze slid from a blushing Sakura to a sheepish looking Hinata across the way.

"Ino." Shikamaru's mother said while stepping in front of her slightly embarrassed looking husband. "We haven't seen Shikamaru all day, so he might be away on a mission. If not, we have to apologize for his behavior. You know him, he's probably asleep underneath a tree somewhere and unaware of the time or the day."

Ino smiled warmly and entwined her fingers in Tsuyoshi's beside her. "Yeah, I know. I understand." she tried to keep the hurt expression off of her face and gripped tighter on the large warm phalanges twisted around her own.

Yoshino's grey eyes, which were so much like Shikamaru's, slid from her small face to the man's beside her. "Who is this? The grand fiancé we've all heard so much about?" The patrons around them all chuckled curiously and leaned in to inspect the soon to be husband of Konoha's most beautiful kunoichi.

None we're disappointed by his thin but strong build, which was to be expected by an ANBU member in Konoha. His face was not any less appealing than the rest of him either, with a chiseled jaw and high cheekbones on a square face and topped with glistening golden hair unlike any others. It was almost the same shade as the aspiring Hokage. It wasn't his hair that drew so many awed expressions, nor was it the small welcoming smile full maroon lips. It was the wide violet eyes that sparkled at them with mirth, happily letting them evaluate him. Framed by thick brown lashes, they had to be on par with the beautiful Yamanaka's standing beside him.

Surely a man so beautiful wouldn't leave his country for an enemy nin? Surely a member of a foreign ANBU program wouldn't betray his family, his country, his fame, for just a woman?

Surely this man wouldn't leave behind his life for _Ino_.

It wasn't nearly as romantic as they were all making out to be though, it wasn't as if Konoha and the Lightning country were on bad terms. She had been sent to insure that, and she had - marvelously. It was only proof of her well accomplished mission that she had taken him with her. Wasn't it?

"This is Tsuyoshi. Isn't he just beautiful?" Ino asked as she smiled at him teasingly.

"Ino..." he murmured self-consciously, casting her a warning glance. She was the spitting image of the Cheshire cat at that moment.

Yoshino nodded before giggling quietly. "If I weren't married Ino, you'd have some competition."

Shikaku frowned to himself before stepping forward to pull at his wife jealously away. Yoshino smiled at Ino as though they shared a secret and Ino smiled back happily.

"Anyways!" Ino said, bringing her hands together to clap. "I'm having a dinner tonight at the new Nikumen restaurant. I expect you all to be there!"

The small crowd all chuckled and made variating sounds of agreement. Ino always threw the best parties, if anyone was looking to hook up with anyone... Tonight would be the night.

"Great!" She said, tugging on her fiancé's arm into the gates of the village. She turned to him smiling, "We have a lot to do before tonight. You have to meet the Hokage; we have to get you signed up for our Shinobi program." She paused and stepped closer to him, grabbing his other hand with hers and standing on her tip toes. "We have to get you settled in."

Tsuoyshi smiled at her eagerly, and tucked her underneath his arm. "First, you need to tell me about this 'Shikamaru' everyone was talking about."

* * *

><p><strong>Okay guys, I know it's short and I know it's been a month (A friggin' month!) since I've updated but I wanted to get this tiny chapter out to you all as quickly as possible since I'd already kept you waiting this long. I'll try and get you a longer chapter next time, plus I'll try to update faster. I myself am waiting for Tricksie to update and have been for about a month (two?) and I realize it's NOT fun. <strong>

**I also realize I promised the meeting of Shikamaru and Ino, but I didn't want to rush into it and I really wanted to get the memory in before they did. I also wanted to update as fast as possible, for your sake. (There doesn't that make it a little better?)**

**Anyways, you know the next chapter WILL have them meeting... As well as Tsuyoshi's meeting with Shikamaru (and Ino's explanation of why everyone was like 'Where in the world is that touched child?' in this chapter)**

**Should be interesting! I do love jealousy... but of course who will be jealous of whom? :) ahahah twists!**

**Now... TIME FOR REVIEWS:**

**ShinobiStar: OMG thanks so much! Your review gave me chills - I love to hear that I've converted (even temporarily) an anti-ShikaIno fan. Ahhh... *o* it really made me feel GREAT! Not to mention the fact that you said it was 'well written, no grammar mistakes, fluent,' and had 'great wording'. XD there's really not a smile big enough to make on this computer screen compared to the one I wore on my face. Because... yeah, I do everything myself... no biggy. Ahaha anyways, PLEASE update again, I do love you right now... so it would make me blush a thousand different shades of rose to hear your praise. :)**

**Valencia Petals: I have made it my goal to have my story on your favorite's lists. No joke. You saying that I 'have talent' just lit my fire. I'll show YOU talent. Haha jk... but seriously. ;D I too just love Shikamaru like pie, if there's a man alive like him then we're already married - no one will touch him but me. The fact that Shikamaru is hot, confident and a kick-ass genius (not to mention the fact that he doesn't really like women...) just drives me CRAZY. I LOVE HIM 3 expect a wedding invitation through PM. hahaa**

**Haylin-Chan: Thanks, and yah I did know that... I just temporarily forgot. I do that a lot, I even have medication for it. I also know that Shikamaru's eyes are actually just pupils, so they don't really have a color (which would explain why you said that they are brown - as many others do.) and I personally like the idea of them being dark gray... for reasons to be explained further in the story. Please continue reading! :)**

**Sayaka M.: You're so SWEET! Your reviews lets me know that you'll still read this even if I don't update for a long while :') which makes me feel so warm inside. Thank you so much for reviewing and pleaassseeee do so again! :D**

**Anemone: GOOD! XD**

**RainbowLove06: Next chapter? (*prays to god*) "Please don't hurt me?"**

**Gerren: Muahahaha! I can't wait for more either! ~~ Please review again! **


	4. Important Notice Enclosed, Please Read

**Dearest Readers,**

**Yes, this is the dreaded authors note delivering notice of Hiatus. Not to worry though, with the Naruto fillers over now I should be up and at'em again soon. Life and midterms are attacking me at present, but with such encounters occuring I am also frequently visited by Inspiration. As of current there are three stories in the oven, each slightly better than the last. So please, accept my most humble apologies and continue with your lives on the net. I love you all, and hope that you may continue to read my scrambled words even after this mild episode of self-discovery. :)**

**Your fifteen-year-old friend,**

**SYUTK**


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